A drive-force transmitting mechanism includes a drive disk and a driven disk that are rotatable about an axis. The driven disk has two diametrically opposing engagement portions. The drive disk has two levers pivotally mounted thereon, each lever having a clutch pin formed thereon. The two disks are disposed so that the levers are sandwiched between the two disks. The levers are operatively coupled through a coupling member such that rotation of one lever is transmitted to the other. A cam member has a groove that guides a pin member of one lever such that when the drive disk rotates through a first angle, the pins move toward the axis to engage the engagement portions to transmit rotation of the drive disk to the driven disk, and when the drive disk rotates through another angle, the pins move away from the axis to disengage from the engagement portions.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A drive-force transmitting mechanism, comprising: a first disk rotatable about an axis; a second disk rotatable about the axis and having a first engagement member formed thereon; a second engagement member mounted on said first disk such that said second engagement member is sandwiched between said first disk and said second disk, said second engagement member being movable toward the axis or away from the axis; and a guide member that guides said second engagement member such that said second engagement member moves radially toward the axis or away from the axis depending on a direction in which said first disk rotates about the axis; and wherein when said second engagement member engages the first engagement member, rotation of said first disk is transmitted to said second disk; when said second engagement member disengages from the first engagement member, rotation of said first disk is not transmitted to said second disk.
2. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein when said first disk rotates in a first direction through a first angle range, said guide member guides said second engagement member to move radially toward the axis so that said second engagement member engages the first engagement member; when said first disk rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction through a second angle range subsequent to the first angle range, said first disk and said second disk rotate together so that rotation of said first disk is transmitted to said second disk; and when said first disk rotates in the first direction through a third angle range subsequent to the second angle range, said second engagement member disengages from the first engagement member so that rotation of said first disk is not transmitted to said second disk.
3. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said guide member has a cam groove formed therein and said second engagement member has a guide pin that engages the cam groove, the guide pin being guided along the cam groove when said first disk rotates about the axis.
4. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said guide pin is pivotal about a position on a radius of said first disk; and wherein said cam groove has a first arcuate groove having a large diameter, a second arcuate groove having a medium diameter, a third arcuate groove having a small diameter, a first radially extending groove that connects the first arcuate groove and the second arcuate groove, and a second radially extending groove that connects the second arcuate groove and the third arcuate groove.
5. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said second engagement member is one of two second engagement members disposed on said first disk and diametrically opposite with respect to the axis; wherein the drive-force transmitting mechanism further comprises a coupling member that engages the two second engagement members to transmit movement of one of the two second engagement members to the other of the two engagement members such that the two second engagement members operatively move toward and away from the axis.
6. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 5 , wherein one of the two second engagement members is mounted on a first lever that is pivotally mounted to said first disk and the other of the two second engagement members is mounted on a second lever that is pivotally mounted to said first disk.
7. The drive-force transmitting mechanism according to claim 5 , wherein said coupling member is pivotal about the axis and pivotally engages the first lever and the second lever.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
September 4, 2001
September 23, 2003
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